Trenton Stowe and Chico State baseball coach Dave Taylor sat down for a heart to heart following winter break to discuss Stowe's role with the 2019 Wildcats. There was a spot for him on the team, Taylor explained, but Stowe's role would not likely involve many opportunities on game day. Taylor wanted to know if his senior backup catcher would be a leader, a good example to the team's many newcomers, and a "glue guy" in the clubhouse.
It wasn't exactly the job Stowe craved, but he knew he loved being part of the Chico State baseball program, so he accepted the role with open arms. He told Taylor as much, but before leaving the office, left the coach with this:
"If you ever do need me, I'll be ready."
Sunday, in his final home game as a Wildcat, Stowe ripped the first pitch he saw for a walk-off single into left field, giving Chico State a 7-6 win and series sweep of rival Sonoma State on Senior Day. It was just the fourth time Taylor has called his name this season, but Stowe was true to his word. He was ready.
"Every game I come out there ready to play. I try and treat it like I'm a starter," Stowe said. "I was biting at the bit for the chance. I wanted it so bad. I took a deep breath and I was ready. I wasn't leaving there without a hit. I was ready to win the game. That's what I wanted. I wanted to win the game."
He wasn't alone in that mindset. Cody Wissler wrapped up an astonishing 8-for-8 weekend at the plate with five hits in five at-bats Sunday. Myles Moran went 3-for-4 and knocked in the go-ahead run in the seventh before the Seawolves rallied to tie the game in the ninth. Alex DeVito drove in two runs on two hits. And Turner Olson delivered a clutch pinch-hit RBI single.
On the mound, Wildcats starter William Curless gutted out five-plus innings, allowing only two earned runs while striking out five. Connor Sealey got the 'Cats out of a big jam in the sixth, inheriting a first-and-third situation with only one out and surrendering only a run. Kristian Scott made just his second appearance of the season on the mound and finished two scoreless innings before running into trouble in the ninth. Alex "Clark" Kent came on with two on and one out in a tie game in the ninth and got the Wildcats out of the inning tied with a double-play grounder. Kent earned the win, improving to 4-5, and finished the weekend with two wins and a save in four appearances.
The win left the Wildcats on the doorstep of their 22
nd postseason appearance in the past 24 years. Now 25-18 overall and 21-17 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, the Wildcats and would lock up a spot in the CCAA Tournament with its next win or the next Cal State East Bay loss.
They'll be in search of more than one more win when they travel to play makeup doubleheaders at San Francisco State Friday and Stanislaus State Saturday, however. The Wildcats could still climb as high as third in the conference standings with a successful weekend, and also hope to play their way into the NCAA Championship Tournament field discussion.
Sonoma State slipped to 21-25 overall and 19-22 in the CCAA.
Sunday's finale marked the first time in the series the Wildcats did not have to come from behind to beat the Seawolves. DeVito's two-run single staked them to the lead in the first. Eddie Zavala walked and came around to score on a passed ball in the fourth. And Wissler ripped an RBI single into left in the sixth to make it 4-1.
However, they did have to quell Sonoma State's momentum twice.
The Seawolves rallied to tie the game with three runs in the sixth and then scored twice in the ninth to tie it again. Each time the Wildcats answered.
Wissler led off the seventh with a double and promptly scored on Moran's single into right field to give Chico State back the lead. The senior catcher, who was lifted for a pinch runner, is now 12-for-24 with 10 RBI in his last eight starts. Olson doubled the lead two batters later with a pinch-hit single into center field.
The Seawolves, in desperate need of a win, rallied again to tie the game in the ninth.
But just as he had in the seventh, Wissler set the table for the Wildcats to eat, smoking a leadoff single up the middle. Tyler Stofiel sacrificed him over the second—the 20
th sac bunt of his career, tying him for fourth in school history—and Wissler advanced to third on Eddie Zavala's groundout, setting the stage for Stowe's heroics.
Moran could not have been more excited to see his fellow catcher stroll to the plate.
"Everyone's been on teams with guys who don't play a lot who just shrug it off and don't add any value to the team," Moran said. "Trenton really cares about his teammates and what happens out there. To see him walk it off like that on Senior Day—you can't write a better script than that. That's baseball at its very best."
Stowe faced Seawolves pitcher Tyson Canfield on Saturday and grounded out to first base.
"I took a different approach today," Stowe said. "I wanted to try to be on time and pull the ball. It was a fastball low, the same pitch I got last night. I was expecting it."
It was a Senior Day memory that he will cherish forever. But it's not the only one. The entire season has been special for Stowe.
"Baseball's been my life since I was a little kid and I am super happy to be out there every day with the guys," Stowe said. "Being around the game of baseball means a lot to me. I just wanted to be around this team. That's all I wanted. I wasn't trying to be a guy. When my chance came to help the team, I wanted to help them win. Whatever it took to play baseball at Chico State, I was going to do it."
Stowe, Curless, DeVito, Moran, Brandon Hernandez, Michael Lagier, Andrew Lopez, and Dustin Miller were all honored prior to the start of Sunday's game. The Wildcats' starters were then joined by players from Paradise United Little League, who have been playing this season in Chico, for the National Anthem.
It was Little League day at The Nett and those that stuck around until the end were not only rewarded with a thrilling finish, but also player autographs following the game.
The final game of the season at Nettleton Stadium was a special one, indeed.
Matthew Chambers of Paradise United Little League shows off the bat he won in the league's fundraiser raffle
signed and generously donated by Joe Panik of the San Francisco Giants.
